Favours
by caynaise
Summary: Moca really can't get from her bed to band practice in time.


**Originally written for Bandori Rarepair Week 2019, Day 7: Free Day**

* * *

The best thing about having Hina Hikawa in your life is that you can count on her to cover for your laziness, as long as you convince her that the menial task you need done is 'boppin',' or any number of similarly onomatopoeic and vaguely defined adjectives that carry connotations of fun.

All Moca has to do, this fine afternoon when the cicadas are droning and her brain is in hibernation, is reach for her phone on her bedside table.

_heyy hina-senpai. any chance you could go to band practice for me?_

Hina replies so fast that Moca isn't sure her finger even pressed send before the message flashed onto the screen.

_ehh i'd love to!_

A slow grin spreads over her face. Hina doesn't give her time to elaborate, and the grey bubble bounces and vanishes as fast as it came.

_oo does that mean i get to play all those zappin' moca-chan riffs? i've always wanted to try that one bit in hey-day heck YES_

Moca doesn't bother to try to get a word in. On a day like this, even typing is too much effort. Any moment now . . .

Sure enough, her solo line in 'COMIC PANIC!' blasts through the room. She swiftly takes the call.

"You've reached the den of the gr—"

"So when do you want me to leave? Is it an emergency?"

Moca glances at the time. "Uhm. That's definitely a possibility, I'm afraid."

Hina's giggle shivers through Moca's phone and right into her ear. Whew, that's an extra strong espresso shot right there. Too intimate, too stimulating. She doesn't have the capacity for that at this point in time.

So she moves the phone away from her ear and puts Hina on speaker.

"I'm on my way!" Hina shouts, and right on cue, the faint rumble of traffic can be heard on her end. "What do I tell Ran-chan?" Had it not been for Moca's amazing power of foresight, the loudness of her voice would've deafened her. Way to go, Moca-chan.

"Whatever you fancy," she drawls.

After she hangs up, she climbs out of bed and reaches for her guitar.

* * *

Ran's eyebrow is ticking. Hina can't say she's paid too much attention to the wonderful facial quirks of Afterglow's, well, face, but she knows enough to deduce that what she's seeing is not a good sign.

She stands innocently in the centre of the studio, plugging in her guitar as if her being there in their time slot is a perfectly ordinary occurrence.

As she fiddles with the tuning pegs, she hears a series of whispers.

"Wh-What are we supposed to say to her?"

"Ran, she can hear you."

"Well, she can hear you too!"

Hina turns, doing her best to flash a bright smile around the pick in her mouth, before taking it out so she can speak. "What are you guys whispering about? Let me in on it! C'mon."

The other four girls exchange glances, and Tsugumi seems to sense impending disaster and hurriedly steps in.

"Um, Hina-senpai, what exactly are you doing here?"

"Hm, what do you mean? I'm rehearsing with you guys, of course!" Hina zips forward and grabs the sheet music off Tsugumi's stand, flipping through the pages with interest. "Ooh, new song, right? Can we do 'Hey-Day' too? Ever since I played 'Y.O.L.O!' with PasuPare I've been dying to go through your entire repertoire, you know? The guitar always goes 'woo whee!' and 'kaboom!' and it's like you'd get electrocuted if you touched the strings for longer than a second." She illustrates her points with wild gestures and a few hops on the spot.

Ran looks mystified, but Himari gasps and claps her hands. "Whoa, do you hear that, guys? Our music is really that cool, huh?"

"Yep! It's super boppin'!"

Tomoe laughs. "Well, I'm stoked to hear it too, but we kinda need Moca, y'know. Don't mean any offence, of course—just practicality."

"Aww, aren't you guys glad to see me?" Hina makes a mental note to ask Moca about coming to Afterglow rehearsals more often. This is the best decision she's made in her entire life.

"O-Of course!" Tsugumi blunders. "You can stay and watch if you like, but Moca-chan promised she'd practise the new—ah!"

"What's up, Tsugu?"

In the manner of a woman defeated, Tsugumi chuckles. "She did promise."

And Ran, who has stood to the side and uttered barely a word since Hina's intrusion, sighs and echoes, "She did."

* * *

"So . . . how was it?"

Hina skips along the path, fingers laced behind her back. "Hehe~ can't you tell? I wanna do that again! Can I join Afterglow?"

"As exquisitely Hinalicious as you are, I'm afraid there are simply too many obstacles in your way," Moca says lazily. She's trudging along at such a leisurely pace that Hina has to circle back around every few metres to hear what she's saying. "Ran, for one. Don't be fooled by her enigmatic demeanour. And Tomo-chin—"

"I know, I know! I've seen all of you on stage."

"So cruel . . . another day, another dose of Moca-chan's wisdom ignored."

Hina's giggle is the sort that starts in her belly and escapes in a carefree but controlled burst, the flutter of hummingbird wings in a blur. "Afterglow really is full of such interesting people!"

"And Moca-chan is the most interesting of them all, isn't she?" Moca says in the most threatening tone she can manage.

Hina jumps onto the kerb, walking along its narrow surface like she would a tightrope. "Naturally she is! Who else would go to the trouble of calling me up because she needed an extra half hour of practice?"

"Please, Hina-senpai. You can't possibly comprehend the humiliation of forgetting you had homework requiring an unusually large amount of brainpower."

"Nope! Can't relate at all!"

"Oh, you wound me."

Quick as lightning, Hina backs up and catches Moca around the waist, plants a sloppy wet kiss on her cheek, and continues on her way. "Better?"

Moca blinks. She's certainly wide awake now, but her brain doesn't seem to be working. "Hm, impressive. It could use some improvement though."

"Eh, really?"

* * *

There comes a time when Hina asks for a favour in return. She may be a genius, but she's only human. Sometimes people forget that.

_wait, hold up_, Moca's text reads. _you're not going to the agency?_

_mm, i don't really feel like it. onee-chan went on a trip with Roselia too_

Moca doesn't reply for several minutes, even though the messaging app shows that she's seen Hina's response. Then . . .

_i dunno hina, i don't think those frilly idol outfits would look good on me_

Reading the words is like receiving a momentary dull blow to the stomach, but Hina dismisses it.

_yeah i guess you're right! i'm the one who can pull them off, huh?_

_absolutely. hey, go outside for a minute_

_Outside?_ Hina frowns and types a series of question marks, but curiosity gets the better of her, as always.

"Someone's been naughty," a voice drawls as soon as she steps onto the pavement, and then she's being swept up and hugged from behind.

It's pretty nice, once the surprise has worn off. But it could be better. "I'm not really feeling that, y'know. Put some muscle into it?"

The pressure increases, and Hina relaxes into Moca's arms, emitting a satisfied hum. "Ooh, you sure are a funny one. When was the last time you put so much effort into something like this?"


End file.
